JD(U) to focus on UP assembly polls

Patna: A day after its two-day national council meeting at Rajgir, JD(U) on Tuesday resolved to concentrate on the forthcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
After having consultations with its topmost functionaries at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s residence here, the party also decide to allow its national president (Nitish) to play a crucial role in unifying all secular and democratic forces in UP with a view to checkmate BJP and RSS in the coming elections.
“Our main focus in UP will be to check the BJP as we did successfully by forging an alliance with RJD and Congress in Bihar in November 2015 elections,” JD(U) national secretary general and spokesperson K C Tyagi told TOI soon after the crucial meeting.
He said the JD(U) has decided to play a leading role in bringing all secular and anti-BJP forces on one platform in UP before the elections.
Tyagi said several small groups of socialist camp and breakaway groups of old Janata Parivar were already in talks with each other on the issue of how to checkmate communal forces in UP.
He said Uttar Pradesh’s Peace Party’s chief Dr Ayub on Tuesday met Nitish and expressed willingness to join the anti-BJP front.
The meeting, which also discussed strategies for the UP polls, was attended by Nitish, party’s former president Sharad Yadav, Tyagi, Bihar unit president Bashishtha Narayan Singh, Rajya Sabha member R C P Singh and two senior Bihar ministers, Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias ‘Lallan’.
“Dr Ayub was also present at the meeting and he discussed the issues related to UP polls,” Tyagi said adding that the meeting also deliberated on how to expand the party in other states, mainly UP, Jharkhand and Delhi.
Nitish addressed altogether 10 rallies in different parts of Uttar Pradesh after becoming Bihar CM for the fifth time on November 20 last year. During his recent visit to UP, he shared dais with RLD chief Ajit Singh, BSP rebel R K Chaudhary at Baraut in Baghpat Lok Sabha constituency which is famous as the ‘karmabhoomi’ of veteran farmer leader and former PM Choudhary Charan Singh.